Online CAT finally has a smooth run on day three

New Delhi, Nov 30 (Inditop.com) The competitive Common Admission Test (CAT), which went online for the first time this year, finally got off to a smooth start Monday after two days of technical glitches and poor management affected hundreds of B-school aspirants across the country.

“Until now we have not had any negative feedback on the test. So after two days of computers crashing and bad management, the online version of CAT finally seems to have taken off smoothly,” said Gautam Puri, vice chairman of Career Launcher, a coaching institute.

The CAT exam, which determines admission to the country’s prestigious Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) and other business schools, went online for the first time Saturday, but several students had a harrowing time as computers crashed in 11 centres across the country.

Similarly on day two of the exam, technical glitches and poor management led to the exam being rescheduled in 24 centres across the country, creating a lot of confusion among the aspirants. The exam’s staggered online formal has a 10-day schedule and will conclude Dec 7.

Ramesh Nava of Prometric, the US firm that developed the computer based CAT, said: “Exhaustive plans were developed and put in place well in advance of the start of the testing window.”

“Unfortunately viruses and malware that attacked the test delivery system were not detected by the anti-virus software at the testing centres,” he added.

“All affected candidates have been notified and are currently being rescheduled within this year’s testing period,” Nava assured.

Around 240,000 students have registered for the CAT this year, which is scheduled at 105 centres in 32 cities, all linked to a main server.